[flukus]

> but this is way outside the scope of what a warranty would traditionally cover

The warranty and any other legalese from intel is irrelevant here, this is about consumer protection laws of various countries that supersede an intel warranty. A serious post sale drop in performance would be enough for a refund on any computer purchased in many countries. In Australia if I bought a computer 6 months ago I'd be entitled to take it back to the store for a refund, then it's up to them to argue with dell and dell to argue with intel.

> Note that the cost of overly onerous regulation (e.g. requiring that every computer manufacturer replace these chips even though the problems can largely be worked around in software) is of course passed onto consumers.

Demanding that a product works and in lieu of that offering a replacement or refund is not overly onerous regulation, it's a very basic standard protection.

[rlanday]

I’m not convinced that a software update slowing down your phone or computer a few percent while performing certain operations should automatically qualify you for a refund. It’s widely understood that keeping your computer secure requires installing software updates, and it’s even more widely understood that installing updates often slows down your computer. If that’s going to be your bar, I think an iPhone would have to sell for about $25,000 so Apple could afford to give you a replacement every year for the rest of your life.